Samurai Japan feels heat to repeat as WBC looms

by Rob Smaal (Jan 1, 2009)

It's been three years since Japan took the international baseball
world by storm, winning the first edition of the World Baseball Classic
by beating powerhouse Cuba in the final.

The nation is hungry for a repeat performance and many of the core
players from '06 will be back in action this March, led by Seattle
Mariners star outfielder Ichiro and Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke
Matsuzaka, the MVP from the inaugural event.

While experience certainly counts for something, this version of
Team Japan will have to deal with something new this time around--the
added weight of high expectations. The pressure to repeat--or at least
give a good account of themselves--will be immense, and the Japanese
team showed at the Beijing Olympics this past summer that they can be
prone to melting away under the harsh glare of well-trained spotlight
as they finished out of the medals.

"There is a lot more pressure," said best-selling author Robert
Whiting, who has penned several books on Japanese baseball. "No one
wants to repeat the embarrassment of Beijing. No one wants to end
Japan's WBC title winning streak at one. That pressure is one reason, I
think, why (2006 manager Sadaharu) Oh and (Olympic team manager
Senichi) Hoshino turned the job down. I'm sure that (2009 manager)
Tatsunori Hara would rather be doing something else--anything else."

Adding to the pressure is the fact that South Korea took gold in
Beijing, and Chiba Lotte Marines skipper Bobby Valentine says that
means teams will be gunning to knock Asian baseball off its perch.

"It's a must-win situation because Korea won the gold (in Beijing)
and Japan are the defending WBC champs," said Valentine, who also
managed the New York Mets and Texas Rangers. "Everyone will be trying
to beat the Asian teams and the Japanese team will have to play their
best each day. If they play together, they will win."

Once again, Japan's roster will be deep in talent. Joining Ichiro
in the outfield will be Norichika Aoki of the Yakult Swallows, the best
pure contact hitter in Japanese baseball with an average of .340 over
the past four years.

Seibu's power-hitting shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima should anchor a
solid infield that also features the Tampa Bay Rays' Akinori Iwamura
and Yomiuri Giants corner infielder Michihiro Ogasawara, who hit .310
with 36 home runs this past season. There is plenty of power to spare
in this group, with the Yokohama BayStars' Shuichi Murata (CL-best 46
HRs in 2008) and Kenta Kurihara of the Hiroshima Carp (23 HRs) also
available to Hara.

But, like a hastily restored car that looks pretty impressive from
20 feet away, there may be a few dings visible when you take a closer
look.

Matsuzaka, coming off a campaign in which he won 18 games for the
Red Sox, had control issues all season long, so don't let his lofty win
total fool ya. Factor in that major-league hitters are now much more
familiar with him, and a lot of the mystique and aura that he brought
to the table in '06 are no longer there.

Darvish, who is a world-beater on Japanese soil, had a horrible
outing in Beijing, but at least he made the team. Team selectors were
so wary of Iwakuma's tendency to come up short in big international
games that they didn't even select him for the Olympics, even though he
was leading the league in wins at the time.

Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Hiroki Kuroda has opted out of the
team as he nurses a sore shoulder back to health and New York Yankees
aging slugger Hideki Matsui will once again miss the event as he rehabs
his knee, but other than that, Hara should have a healthy group heading
to training camp in Miyazaki on Feb. 15, where they plan to trim the
roster down to the final 28 a week later.

None of the players on the Chunichi Dragons have made themselves
available for the team following the debacle in Beijing. That means
middle infielders Hirokazu Ibata and Masahiro Araki,
infielder-outfielder Masahiko Morino, free-agent starter Kenshin
Kawakami and closer Hitoki Iwase will not be suiting up for Samurai
Japan.

But Japan is not the only team that will be missing a few good men.
Team USA is stocked with stars like Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter,
Cleveland Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore and the Red Sox's American
League MVP Dustin Pedroia, but slugger Ryan Howard and pitchers Cole
Hamels and Brad Lidge of the World Series-champion Phillies have turned
down offers to play for their country, as have Boston starter Josh
Beckett and the Texas Rangers' Josh Hamilton, among others.

WBC play gets under way at Tokyo Dome on March 5, with host Japan,
South Korea, Taiwan and China forming Pool A. The top two--once again
expected to be Japan and South Korea--then head to San Diego for Round
2.

The semifinals and final of the 16-team tournament take place at
Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles from March 21-23. Unlike in 2006, the
first two rounds of the tournament will be played in a
double-elimination format.

Japan, the United States, Cuba and South Korea are among the
favorites going in. The Alex Rodriguez-led Dominican Republic, Puerto
Rico, Canada and Mexico all have lineups dotted with major-leaguers, so
don't be surprised if they make some noise as well.